


In the City that Never Sleeps

by TheBarghestsNotebook



Series: When You Play With the Dark You Will Meet Fear Itself [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Cannibalism, Mentioned Batfamily - Freeform, Mentioned Gotham City Sirens, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 05:08:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20501393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBarghestsNotebook/pseuds/TheBarghestsNotebook
Summary: When the Batfamily and the other superheroes of Gotham are busy and the police are as incompetent as they can be in a comic book story, someone else has to step up and save the hostages. Thankfully the Reader can stomach it.





	In the City that Never Sleeps

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a dream I had (seems like most of my series are like this). Will develop in Reader/Jonathan Crane because the Scarecrow is my favorite villain. Also, as always, you can tell what I'm into.

There’s something about the city at night that is equally beautiful and makes my skin crawl. The mist that rose from the underground made it look so sweltering. The trash that was heaped in mountains on the sidewalks. The moon that laid everything bare. The sounds of mix traffic and screams. The fog that rolled in across the bay. The screams of fear and crime. The sirens that were never truly silent.

Gotham was the city that never sleeps. It couldn’t afford to. So many people dragging themselves out of their homes in order to try to control the chaos. How many nights did Commissioner Gordon just manage to get his shoes off while he sat in his favorite chair did his pager go off? How many nights did citizens check to make sure every entrance into their house was locked every ten minutes? Every five? Ever time the let their gaze leave their front door? How many businesses know they had to run 24/7 in fear of being broken into the moment their lights went out? How many nights did Gotham’s defenders have to battle without rest the next day because crime really did never sleep.

No rest for the weary.

No rest for the wicked.

No rest for anyone.

The radios crackled with police reports. A ferry had been taken hostage in the middle of the Sprang River. And Batman was busy in Robinson Park along with the rest of his crew dealing with a very large joint effort made up of Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Harly Quinn. Something about murderous plants hyped up on...something or another. You know, the usual for that gang. And with the rest of the cycling crews of heroes and sidekicks dealing with anything from petty crime to the C and D ranked Villains, it really wasn’t going to go well for the hostages if someone didn’t manage to get out there. At least with the real superheroes taking care of the bigger problems, the GCPD could focus on trying to save those poor people.

That is, if they could manage to get close to the damn boat. Seemed like there was enough forewarning of blowing the whole thing up if any boats got close. And enough actual warning of the men on the decks with machine guns with hostages in front of them, ready to shoot both at any rescuers or anyone trying to jump ship. So far, they didn’t seem to want anything, no bargains, no demands. Just...wanting to sail that ferry all the way out to international waters.

It must have either been a crime of opportunity because that debacle in Robinson Park had been taking a good while OR every active criminal in Gotham had a bet that night to see who could keep the heroes busy for longest.

Either way, the police were stretched thin trying to keep boats away, redirect traffic away from the Midtown Bridge, and figure out a damn plan. I’m not saying that cops are useless...but in this city, would you expect any different.

Taking a few steps back for a head start, I raced off the edge of the building I had been perched on. The air rushed past me as I made my way across Midtown. A shadow across the rooftops, like a slicing wind. If it was one thing I had to give to this city was how well the buildings were laid out. Perfect for the rooftop vigilantes.

The police lights lit that section of town like it was Christmas. Flashing and changing colors, loud shouts at the crowds of people and barking at the press. The certain kind of chaos that the citizens of Gotham knew all too well. I wasn’t going to pay them much mind, just enough to pass over them without altering the traffic of helicopters. Slipping down the buildings on the waterfront and launching myself to hang under the Midtown Bridge. Crawling under it, I skittered to the middle and waited for the ferry to pass underneath. It was going to be difficult, with spotlights on the boat at all times, I wouldn’t be able to drop down onto it like I would want to. Shame. Or...maybe I could. It would take a lot of careful planning and a good bit of luck for me to do it. Moving spotlights meant gaps. Marginal, small, little room for error. But, I knew what I was doing. The night was on my side.

I waited.

I waited.

I waited.

And I sprang.

And I made it.

On top of the boat, no noise. I skittered quickly and quietly to the shadow of one of the guards stationed there. A dangerous place to be, on top of a ferry. But they all seemed to know what they were doing. I waited a bit more before slipping from his shadow to another’s, and then down the side, through the space between the window and steel, and into the shadow of one of the hostages. And from one shadow to another, hopping back and forth as I made my way to the helm. It took longer than I wanted it to. Not enough of the mooks were making their rounds that close. And everything just had to be brightly lit enough that no one was going to try anything funny. But good things come to those who wait. Careful planning, watching and waiting, and springing when the time was right.

It took far too long. We were farther passed the bridge than I wanted us to be. But things were going to be okay. I just needed to find whoever was at the helm of the ship. Just needed to find the right mook who was going to walk there next. Give a report, ask a question, anything.

When I did finally manage to get there, my disappointment was palpable. Bad Samaritan. Well, at least I knew it wasn’t a spur of the moment kind of take over. And I also knew that no one was going to miss him should I...sate my appetite.

I melded to the captain's chair’s shadow and waited.

And when he did finally sit down with that smug look on his face, my tendrils lashed out and took hold of him. He tried to scream, but no sound can be heard in my void. As I rose from the shadow, my darkness speared the rest of the mooks in the room. Their life force tasted so good. But really, when it comes down to it, the man in charge is always the best meal. I dragged him into my shadows, consuming him. He tasted oh so wonderful. Maybe having us be so far from the bridge was a good thing. The almost victory was an excellent seasoning.

Turning to look at the shaken captain, I gave him one command.

“Make the ship go dark.”

And when that darkness fell, I was in total command. All of these men had chosen their path in life. And none of them were going to be leaving the ferry alive. I gorged myself on them, dragging their screaming bodies into my void. Ripping them from the hostages they had so hoped would protect them. They were all gone when the lights were back on, and so was I.

Hiding in the captain’s shadow.

Around the ferry went, back to safety. I slipped away through the shadows of the police and medics boarding once it finally docked.

There’s something about the city at night that is equally beautiful and makes my skin crawl.


End file.
